Acquired the Scam Rune in the Academy

I knew that Park Jin-woo would use this skill as soon as the dueling began.

‘He saved it until the end of the last match.’

Park Jin-woo might seem a bit foolish at first glance, but in battle, he exhibited sharp and quick-witted instincts. Naturally, he often engaged in psychological warfare against the same opponent.

During our last dueling, he had saved [Rotating Combo Attack] until the very end.

So, there was a possibility that he would use it right at the beginning of this match, and my prediction was correct.

This was already our 41st dueling session.

By now, I could roughly anticipate Park Jin-woo’s moves.

He should try psychological warfare on someone else, really.

“Hah…!!”

I closely followed Park Jin-woo’s movements with [Agile Agility].

And now, the newly acquired rune, [Master of Martial Arts]’s special effect, known as the Limitless Exchange.

I shifted the sword I had been holding with both hands into my right hand and then raised a shield with my left hand.

It took less than a second for [Goblin’s Bronze Shield] to be in my left hand.

‘Really fast, huh?’

The speed of exchanging runes was unexpectedly quick.

There was a slight stumble, but it was sufficient for combat.

For a new effect, I was quite satisfied.

I extended the shield in my left hand forward.

‘Iron Wall Defence!’

Then, I immediately used [Iron Wall Defence].

It was a derivative skill of [Shield], now a sub-rune of [Master of Martial Arts].

It could withstand twice the power of its previous version and was the most outstanding defensive skill I had, alongside [Strengthening].

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

Grrrrr!!

Park Jin-woo’s [Rotating Combo Attack] was blocked by [Iron Wall Defence].

If it were his ultimate skill, it might have been hard to block, but fortunately, [Rotating Combo Attack] was just a normal derivative skill.

“Huff… Huff… What’s that?”

After one round of attacks was fruitlessly blocked, Park Jin-woo stepped back and gasped, clearly astonished.

For someone who had always wielded a two-handed sword when attacking, seeing me suddenly holding a shield with one hand was probably quite unbelievable.

“What is it? It’s a shield.”

“When did you bring it out? I’m sure you only had your sword. What is this? Magic?”

“Hahaha, you’re crazy. This guy who calls himself a rune Holder thinks this is magic.”

I teased Park Jin-woo quite a bit, but in reality, I was surprised too.

I hadn’t expected that ‘Art of Weapon Exchange’, a special effect of [Master of Martial Arts], would have such excellent versatility.

Of course, I had the due cause for today’s dueling with Park Jin-woo, to try out this new rune… Anyway, the goal itself had been accomplished.

“Well, what’s the big deal? Tell me. Is it a rune?”

“If you don’t know, you’ll have to find out by getting hit. Here we go again. I’m starting a streak of ten wins from today.”

“Damn.”

I continued with the [Sprint] and [Ruthless Charge] combo.

When initiating the first attack, this combo, which ignored physical attacks during the charge, was the best.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!!

Thud!

“Again with that? I’ve already figured it out, you punk.”

Park Jin-woo effortlessly dodged my charge.

While the effect of ignoring physical attacks of [Ruthless Charge] seemed invincible at a glance, there was undoubtedly a way to counter it.

First, it was vulnerable to magic attacks, and second, it didn’t work when the charge couldn’t be executed.

So, after dodging the initial charge, he had avoided a collision and then didn’t create an angle for the attack in the first place.

In other words, he simply narrowed the distance to prevent me from charging at all.

Indeed, as much as I understood his combat style, he now understood mine equally well.

He had already mastered the countermeasure for this combo.

‘I wish I could use [War Declaration of a Hundred Soldiers].’

A derived skill from [Master of Martial Arts], [War Declaration of a Hundred Soldiers], ignored ranged physical attacks for ten minutes.

It only applied to ranged attacks.

Close-range attacks still inflicted damage.

So, in a fight against Park Jin-woo, it couldn’t be used.

Too bad.

If I were to show him this, he’d truly be surprised.

‘But there’s still something even more surprising left.’

I had demonstrated [Fiery Flame] in the battle against the previous Park Jin-woo.

To defeat him, who had grown so dramatically, I needed to play this card.

I had no aversion to showcasing my various runes.

Park Jin-woo was the friend I trusted the most in this world after Kim Chae-eun, and practically there is no C-grade Holder like him who was worth dueling with.

Moreover, he was a straightforward guy who cared only about training and growth, so even if I continued to show him new runes, he would only be surprised without any additional action.

‘But this time, the surprise is still greater.’

Taking advantage of the brief lull in the battle, I opened a water bottle I had prepared in advance.

Soon, water began to spill out onto the training ground.

Looking at it, Park Jin-woo’s expression turned bewildered.

“What’s that again?”

“Prepare to be amazed.”

Sssss—

The water that had fallen to the ground began to move according to my will.

Gradually gaining speed, it suddenly surged towards me from behind, like a wave.

[Swirling Tidal Wave].

Among them, this was the manifestation of [New Wave], which created massive waves.

“Wow, holy… What is this…”

Gazing at the water’s movement, Park Jin-woo expressed his astonishment.

I expected this.

He really liked this kind of thing, after all.